Canada-Russia, Europe-Sweden in World Cup semis: How to watch on TV, live stream

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will have to put their loyalty aside during a World Cup.
USATSI

It’s down to 4 teams during a 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The dual semifinals will establish that dual of those 4 teams will go to a best-of-three championship array and both demeanour to be clever matchups.

Canada will accommodate Russia Saturday in a resumption of one of a good rivalries in general hockey. Meanwhile, Sweden will be holding on warn semifinalist Team Europe, who managed wins over a United States and Czech Republic with a hotchpotch register to strech this theatre of a tournament.

Here is how to watch and what we need to know:

Saturday, Sept. 24

Russia vs. Canada, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN3/WatchESPN app

Canada enters a semifinal as a tournament’s usually dominant team. They rolled by a rough turn while out-scoring opponents 14-3. No other organisation had a idea differential aloft than plus-3 in a prelims. The Canadians exaggerate a deepest register and have left comparatively untested so far.

Russia, meanwhile, had to overcome a tighten detriment to Sweden in their contest opener to advance. They kick Team North America 4-3 in one of a tournament’s many stirring games and afterwards simply dispatched Finland 3-0 with their contest lives on a line.

The Russians are seeking their initial contest pretension in a best-on-best featuring NHL players given a 1981 Canada Cup in a Soviet era. It’s been a prolonged drought and there is during slightest some vigour even if this contest is not deliberate anywhere nearby as large as a Olympics, generally in Russia.

This is a adversary in need of a vital rejuvenation and it could come right here. While Canada has a deepest roster, Russia has a organisation of forwards that can measure often. Led by Alex Ovechkin, a weapons on this organisation are numerous. Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko are all going to plea Canada’s invulnerability some-more than many other brazen groups could.

The Canadians will be looking to their implausible abilities in determining a puck, winning possession and disposition on one of a game’ best goalies in Carey Price. They haven’t faced many adversity in this contest and when they have, they’ve responded. Team USA’s lead lasted only 1:29 before Canada took a diversion over.

Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Patrice Bergeron have consistently looked to be among a best forwards in this tournament. Crosby and Toews any have 4 points by 3 games.

That puts a lot of vigour on Russian goalie Sergei Bobrovsky who has been only fantastic in this contest so far. Thorugh 3 starts, he is 2-1 with a .948 save commission and 1.68 goals-against average. Russia might need Bobrovsky to take this diversion for them, and if he plays a approach he has so far, he’s going to have a possibility to do it.

Still, it’s tough to see anyone negligence down Team Canada during this point. It should be a fascinating semifinal between a ancestral rivals nonetheless.

Sunday, Sept. 25

Team Europe vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN3/WatchESPN app

The Swedes did what many everybody approaching them to do, that was to during slightest win Group B. Despite a abyss of talent in their rough group, a Swedes used their abyss and plain goaltending to get by with 5 points in a standings. Their sole trip adult was a 4-3 detriment in overtime to Team North America, that Sweden had to mountain a quip in only to deliver a standings indicate that clinched them a group.

Europe, meanwhile, has looked considerable aside from their detriment to Canada in a preliminary-round finale. They close out Team USA in a contest opener and afterwards kick a Czechs in overtime to secure their spot. Head manager Ralph Krueger has this organisation personification a unequivocally structured code of hockey, while they possess adequate ability adult front to locate teams’ mistakes.

Sweden might not be a bad matchup for Europe in a semis. With this apportionment of a contest being singular elimination, personification their gloomy organisation invulnerability and removing another good opening out of Jaroslav Halak in net could give them a chance.

The Swedes will apparently have other ideas. The strength of their organisation is a unusual blue line. Victor Hedman has looked each bit a all-world defenseman he’s grown into in a NHL. He has helped anchor a blue line that is ridiculously low on talent, and one that isn’t fearful to get concerned in a descent play.

As we saw opposite Team North America, however, Sweden’s D can infrequently can get held out of position. That’s positively an area that Europe will be looking to feat in this diversion since they’re going to have a tough time generating chances. They’ve been good during picking their spots, though.

In a eventuality there are some breakdowns, Henrik Lundqvist is a flattering plain final line of defense. He has played in dual of a 3 games so distant and went 1-0-1 after blank a contest opener with an illness. He should be good and uninformed for a semi.

At a other finish is Halak, who is carrying himself a flattering clever tournament. Halak has started all 3 games, going 2-1 and posting a .946 save commission while confronting some-more shots than any other goalie in a tournament.

This one could be a lot closer than anyone would have likely before a contest began. Look for Anze Kopitar, Mats Zuccarello and Marian Hossa to unequivocally plea Lundqvist, Hedman and company.